There are some days that are more special to you than others, and today is one of those days for me.
Today I am officially a “10 Year Breast Cancer Survivor!” To say that I am grateful is an understatement. There are no words to express my gratitude to be blessed with this special anniversary.
Time is certainly flying by and I am doing my best to embrace each and every day that I am blessed to see and be a part of. I hope that you are doing the same.
I’m sending lots of love to all of you today and always.
Do you ever hear a song on the radio that takes you back in time? One that transports you to a time when you were younger and life seemed much simpler?
It’s that song that brings you back to a precious memory, of a time when you remember being so carefree and happy.
For me it’s a song sung by Eddie Money that makes me think that “I wanna go back and do it all over, but I can’t back, I know.”
But I can’t go back. None of us can.
What we can do is hold onto those memories from a lifetime ago.
Keep them safely tucked inside of your heart.
And don’t lose sight of “now.”
When life isn’t going the way we had planned, or we’re feeling sad or depressed, or as though we’ll never be happy again, we often go back to those times.
We all do.
But don’t go back to those times and wish that you were there again.
Visit those times to remind you that you have been happy and that life was all that you wanted it to be at that time.
And let those times remind you that you can have that in the “now.” You didn’t leave happiness in your past. It was simply a different time in your life that taught you what “happiness” feels like.
Take those feelings of old memories with you into your “now.”
And let your “now” guide you into your “future.”
Life is a series of memories, good and bad, a series of life lessons, easy and hard, and a series of ups and downs. Experience is a great teacher and memories are gifts that we are given along the way.
Go back and visit if only to remind you that your “now” is just as precious as your “then.”
Every year on New Year’s Eve I pick out a “word” to follow me into the new year. It’s a word that will help to keep me motivated, inspire me when I’m feeling less than inspired, and remind me of the reason I picked it in the first place.
This year I am picking the word “hope.”
Hope that this year will bring peace into an unsettled world.
Hope that we can all work together to spread love and kindness to one another.
Hope that there will be less illness and more cures to those fighting them.
Hope that we will all strive to be the best version of ourselves that we can be.
Hope that there is more forgiveness and less blame.
Hope that we focus more on gratitude for what we do have instead of focusing on what we don’t have.
And hope that I can make a positive difference in this world and in the lives of others.
I have big dreams for this year and my hope is that they become a reality.
What’s your word and why did you choose that particular one?
I’d love to know and would be grateful if you would share it with me!
“Say what you mean and mean what you say, but don’t be mean when you say it.”
I’ve always loved this saying and taught it to my children as they were growing up. Not everyone holds to this. There are people that will say what they mean in a cruel and hurtful way. Words are nothing to play around with. It’s the hurtful words that will stick with the person you said them to for a long time, if not a lifetime.
I listen to whatever anyone has to say to me, my children included, but I will not tolerate being talked to in a cruel and hurtful manner. My boundary is “say what you mean but don’t be mean when you say it,” and if what they’re saying to me turns ugly, that’s the end of the conversation. I’m not going to allow someone to verbally beat me up or use me as a whipping post. I respect the boundaries of others and they need to respect mine.
We all run into people that will be cruel and hurtful, trying to cut us down but if there’s one thing that I realize about them it’s this: they’re the ones with the real issue. They’re cruel words are born out of their own feelings about themselves. Maybe they’re lacking self-esteem and are jealous. Maybe they aren’t willing to take their own accountability and instead, throw it back on someone else.
Please, my loves, in a world that can be less than kind, YOU be kind. Be respectful of someone else’s feelings but also be respectful of your own boundaries.
We can’t change the life of someone overnight, but we can continue to try through kindness, love and compassion.
Be the change you want to see in this world. Be the one who plays a part in healing the world. Be the one who tries to make a difference…and together, I believe that we can.
Today marks one year that I’ve been in Florida and what a year it’s been. Eleven days after I moved here Hurricane Ian, a Category 5 hurricane, hit and I had to grab my parents and evacuate to the East Coast until it passed. Happily, I had minimal damage done to my little Florida house!
It’s been a year of trying to find my balance and my place here in Punta Gorda. My significant other stayed up North for six months before he moved here. I’ve tried to find part-time work and have ended up with some crazy jobs. It’s been quite an experience, to say the least.
I did learn some interesting things about living in this area.
Florida has no cold water in the summer months, due to the extreme heat. The most you’ll get out of your faucet is warm water.
Porches are called “lanai’s” which drives some of my friends crazy when I say that.
Most bars have a last call at 9:30 pm and close at 10.
Onions are very strong here and if you cook them I can tell you that you will smell them in your house for over 24 hours!
I learned that lightning can, indeed, strike a car because we saw it happen while driving.
Some of the great things are that you can eat outside at almost every restaurant all throughout the year.
Though the summer is hot, the fall, winter and spring are beautiful.
I love thunder and lightning and this is definitely the place to witness some beauty in the storms here.
The clouds are absolutely stunning at sunset.
I’ll never get used to alligators and snakes. I do love the sounds of the pack of coyotes that live at the end of my street, especially during a full moon when they howl for quite a long time.
Here’s to Year #2 in Florida. It’s taken me this last year to get used to it, but I’m working on it. I still miss the beach at the Jersey Shore but know that I’ll make it back there at some point.
Here’s to change, finding the positive in it and making the best of it.
Support. We all need it in our life at times. We need the support of our family and friends, we need the support to help a dream come to fruition, and sometimes we just need support to get through a bad day in our life.
Do you support others? Are you there to share in a dream that someone needs help with so that it becomes a reality? Are you there to support someone, without judgment, on a bad day?
We should all try to support others in whatever way they need at that moment, be it a listening ear, a kind word, or a conversation that helps inspire and motivate them. Are you?
This world would be such a different place if we offered our support, practiced kindness, compassion and empathy.
I’ll do whatever it takes, in whatever way it takes, to make this world a better place, to help someone through a bad time and to support someone who needs to know that they’re worthy of the dream that they’re pursuing.
Will you?
We’re all in this together. We’re all in a place to help one another. We’re all capable of doing great things with small gestures of love.
It’s a quiet Monday here in Southwest Florida. I’m sitting on my lanai enjoying a balmy, but cool breeze along with a glass of wine. As I sit here I can’t help but think of the last few days and where I am today.
Last week I was doing the final edits on my new novel, “The Mind of a Heart,” then approving the manuscript and cover. In less than 3 days the process was done and now I wait until it’s ready to be released to the public for purchase.
My heart is full. It’s full of love, gratitude and belief that with hard work a dream can turn into a reality. This novel is truly my baby and today I’m excited that she’s been born and is getting ready to meet the world.
I wrote this novel many years ago and it wasn’t until over a year ago that I decided to rewrite it and bring it to life. Some things take time in life and this book was one of them. It wasn’t meant to be published years ago, it was meant to be published now.
This afternoon I was in awe of what I accomplished last week and sat staring at this beautiful book that I wrote. “She” waited a long time to come to life and there she is, a life of her own, one that I hope that you’ll love as much as I loved writing it.
If there’s one thing that I’ve learned in my life it’s this: You don’t need to write a novel, have a successful business or make a million dollars.
Your life is a spectacular gift that you were given, no matter what it hands you or where it takes you.
Your life is important, your life matters and your life makes this world a better place.
And this I know to be true because your life is important to me.
We’re all looking for love and I believe in love. I am a hopeless romantic and believe that love can be all that we dream of, all that we hope for, all that we wish for. When it’s with the right person, it’s amazing.
What is love to me? Love is wanting someone so much that it hurts when you’re not together. Love is sharing your most intimate wishes and dreams. Love is being able to be vulnerable to express your feelings without judgment. Love is disagreements without hurtful arguing. Love is 100% honesty, no matter what. Love is respect. Love is knowing who the other person is and never hurting them for being who they are. Love is joy, love is happiness, love is everything.
Love isn’t complicated, it’s people who make it that way.
Love doesn’t always have to be easy, but it should never be hard.
Love shouldn’t take work, but it should take effort.
No matter how many failed relationships I’ve had or how many people have hurt me, I will always believe in love.
I have to believe in it because without that belief, there’s no hope in thinking that it’s possible.
Everything is based on love.
Love is the basis of all things.
Love can change a life, change a person and could most definitely change the world.
We all want to feel important to the people who are important to us. We want to know that we’re a priority, not a convenience. We want to know that the relationship means as much to them as it does to us.
It doesn’t always work that way.
We are all different and what’s important to the people we care about may not be important to us. It’s crucial that in any relationship you have to communicate. You have to be vulnerable with your feelings and not be judged for them. You have to listen and understand that the other person may feel differently than you.
And that’s what makes life interesting. We’re different and if we weren’t, life would be boring. We have to accept the people in our life for WHO they are, not what you want them to be.
You learn from the differences of others. You may learn a different perspective, or different way of thinking, and you may even learn more about yourself.
I know that disagreements happen but I also know that through communication comes a deeper understanding about the nature of the disagreement. You have to be vulnerable to communicate with others, especially those that you are closest to, and that honest vulnerability should never be judged.
I think it’s a gift when someone in my life is vulnerable to me. It means they trust their feelings with me and know that they won’t be judged or told that they’re wrong.
And when disagreements come up in your relationship, friendships or family, remember this: “Say what you mean, mean what you say, but don’t be mean when you say it.”
Kindness, compassion and understanding go a long way.
I love watching people. I love watching their interactions and their expressions. Today at work I saw some pretty awesome stuff.
I saw a couple holding hands over coffee. I saw a couple cracking jokes and laughing with each other. I saw a table of friends talking about their troubles and their good times over breakfast.
You know, it’s moments like these that I smile and think how lucky I am to have witnessed such random, beautiful moments.
The moments are simple, uncomplicated and honest, yet it’s moments like these that I think to myself: “This is what life is all about.”
It’s the day to day routine that can bring the most joy to those involved in it and to those witnessing it.
And today I was blessed to see joy, to see laughter and most of all, to see love.
Keep your eyes open, my loves. You never know what life has to show you.
